Popole Misenga: 'My life really changed after the Olympics'

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Popole Misenga was one of the faces of the Rio 2016 Olympics, as part of the Games' first refugee team.

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The Olympics brought Misenga global attention and contact with the likes of IOC president Thomas Bach.

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Misenga's goal was to win a medal in Rio and he triumphed in his opening bout against India's Avtar Singh.

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But he was eventually eliminated by world No. 1 Gwak Dong-han, who knocked him out at the end of the four-minute contest.

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Misenga previously competed for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but ran away from the country's team base during the 2013 World Championships in Rio.

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Yolande Mabika (right) and Misenga at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Three years earlier, Mabika, also a former DRC athlete, helped Misenga escape the team's Rio base.

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Orphaned at the age of nine, it was an emotional Olympics for Misenga who had not seen many of his family members for more than a decade.

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Misenga now has a new family in Rio, living in one of the city's many favelas with his Brazilian partner and their children.

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The 25-year-old describes his current existence as "a good life" and has his sights set on the next Olympics in Tokyo.

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In order to achieve his dream he is being trained by Geraldo Bernardes (second from left) in Rio.

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Story highlights

Popole Misenga was part of the first Olympic refugee team in Rio

He was rescued by Unicef, aged nine, after his mother died

A year on, he has been reacquainted with family members

(CNN)At first glance a Rio de Janiero favela would seem an unlikely place to find an athlete who was one of the sporting stories of the last Olympics.

Judoka Popole Misenga -- one of the stars of the refugee team at the Rio 2016 Games -- lives with his partner and children in the Bras de Pina favela in the northern part of the sprawling Brazilian city.

But Misenga, who ran away from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) team camp at the 2013 World Championships in Rio, remains eternally grateful the city gave him a home, helping him compete at the Summer Games last year.

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"My life really changed after the Olympics," Misenga told CNN. "I have a good life now. I don't need to worry every day if I can feed my family.

"I've been supported by the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and Visa since last year," he added referring to the US financial services company.

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In some ways, his fame was short-lived -- although he is still well known in his favela. And the financial backing has afforded him simple pleasures.

He has bought a new fridge for the home he shares with his Brazilian wife Fabiana and the couple's two children, Helias and Maria-Eliza, as well as Fabiana's three other children.

"People don't now recognize me on the streets," he said. "Only in my community because only they know the whole story."

Misenga had set himself three core ambitions at the Rio Games. One was to raise the profile of the world's 65 million refugees, another was to win a medal, and most importantly to become reunited with his family back in Africa.